Increasingly, vital and sensitive information, such as medical records, tax forms, legal documents, etc., is moving from a paper form to a digital format. With this transition, such information is increasingly being stored offsite, e.g., in the cloud. There is often a need to share such content with another person. However, there are security challenges associated with sharing sensitive content.
For example, one way in which sensitive content may be shared is by attaching the content to an email and sending the email to a trusted recipient. However, there is no way to prevent the email (along with the attached content) from being forwarded to an unintended recipient. Also, there is a risk that the email may be sent to the wrong email address. Further, there is a risk that an unintended recipient may be able to log into the intended recipient's email account and access the sensitive content.
Another way in which sensitive content may be shared is by requiring an intended recipient to log onto a website to be able to access sensitive content. However, this requires that an intended recipients register with the website and remember a username and password, which can be cumbersome. Some intended recipients may miss important sensitive information simply because it is too inconvenient for them to register and/or log into the website to access the sensitive content. Also, using a website in this manner provides no way to verify that a user who registers with the website is actually an intended recipient, as usernames and passwords may be easily stolen.